1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector for flexible printed board called FPC (Flexible printed board).
2. Description of Related Art
There has been known to the art the connector of this type which includes a synthetic-resin housing having an opening adapted to open upward, a plurality of fork-shaped contacts which are arranged to face the opening of the housing and each of which has a fixing piece and a resilient piece in vertically opposed relation, and a synthetic-resin cover adapted to open/close the opening of the housing.
The cover is integrally formed with a pair of support shafts as resin projections at opposite ends of one edge thereof. As born on pivotal support portions of the housing (or members retained by the housing), these support shafts permit the cover to pivot between an opened position and a closed position.
An alternative arrangement is made such that support shafts provided at the housing are fitted in U-shaped notches of the cover thereby to support the cover in the pivotal movement. The support shafts may be formed of resin as an integral part of the housing or may be composed of metal pins independent from the housing (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Gazette No. 6-77186).
The cover is provided with a pressure portion at one edge thereof. When the cover is moved to the closed position, the pressure portion is clamped between a flexible printed board on the resilient pieces and the fixing pieces while pressing the flexible printed board against the resilient pieces.
In this case, the fixing pieces of the contacts receive a resilient counter force from the resilient pieces of the contacts via the FPC and the pressure portion. However, it is relatively easy to secure a contact pressure between the FPC and the resilient pieces because the contacts are formed of metallic members, the fixing pieces of which have high rigidity.
However, the cover has been decreased in thickness in order to satisfy the recent demand for connectors with smaller height. Thus, the cover is more susceptible to deformation such as warpage. When warpage occurs in the cover, the plural contacts contact the FPC at non-uniform pressures so that some of the contacts suffer instable electrical continuity. Where the pivot shafts are formed of resin as the integral part of the housing or cover, a fear exists in the connector assembly process that the pivot shaft may break when fitted into the pivotal support portion.